Portland Kitchen Tour Features Four Light & Bright Hill Kitchens

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Four hundred tickets were sold for the Portland Kitchen Tour which took place on Friday and Saturday, May 10& 11th, said the event planners late this afternoon from Tour headquarters – the St. Lawrence Arts Center on the Hill. Four of the seven kitchens featured on the Tour were located on the Hill. The event was organized by Marcy Boynton, “A Divine Time,” and Lana Wescott of “Lana Wescott Events.”

One of the most popular kitchens of the Tour was located at 4 St. Lawrence Street – at the corner of Fore Street – with a sweeping view of Casco Bay clear across to South Portland. CSI Builders owner, Adam Rosenbaum, (Falmouth) said his company took an old house, gave it the proper views of the water and modernized the systems in the way that people live today. “It’s a contemporary style project with an open floor plan, that retains a nod toward its historical roots with its five panel doors (turn of the century elements), a floor that gestures toward reclaimed wood (ash floor) and Shaker style cabainets. These elements work harminously juxtaposed to exposed steel structures,” Rosenbaum said. Steel stairs leading to the second floor from the open kitchen/dining area created a striking contrast and as did the steel beams in the ceiling.

Another impressive watefront kitchen/dining area was at 114 Eastern Promenade. Lee Proscia, of Wright-Ryan Homes and WR Millwork, of which he is manager, said the 20th century home was rennovated to provide a better floor flow for a young family. The company created one bright and sunny space by taking two separate rooms, the kitchen and the dining room, and combining them into the one space. This way the separate kitchen that previously did not have a water view, does now. Wright-Ryan Millwork, of which Proscia is the manager, builds its own cabinets and were used in this kitchen. (Formerly, he was a boat builder with the historic boat builder, Hodgson Boats, formerly of East Boothbay.) A special treat at this kitchen was the presence of Kate Shaffer, owner of Black Dinah Chocolatiers. She is from Isle au Haut, and has become well known for her fantastic chocolates. “It’s a good place to be located because of the chocolate, said Proscia admiring them.

Boynton and Wescott, (see above photo) the two planners headquartered at the St. Lawrence have combined talents previously to work on similar events. “This works because we are both extremely busy, so sharing the workload really works. Bringing our different strengths together is good,” said Wescott. Blynton has a design background and knows some of the contractors involved. Wescott is detail and logistics oriented.

A portion of the proceeds from the two day kitchen tour will be donated to the non-profit – St. Lawrence Arts Center.

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About the Author

In the past Carol was disappointed with the lack of news coverage of this very dynamic community on the eastern end of Portland. That's how and why this blog came into being. The main goal was to recognize people on the Hill leading unique lives, start-up businesses in the area, and other subjects of interest to people on the Hill. While local coverage of the Hill has improved, there is still plenty to report on and Carol plans on doing that for a long time to come.